Field of the Invention
This application relates generally to medical imaging and, more particularly, to the systems and methods for evaluation of tumor visibility in images, both markerless and with implanted markers.
Related Art
Radiotherapy has been used in the treatment of tumors, such as tumors in the lungs and abdomen. Localizing the tumors during treatment time allows more precise dose delivery, which is crucial to maximize the ratio between tumor dose and normal tissue dose. Since these tumors may move during treatment, the ability to track the tumors is important and is critical for image guided radiotherapy (IGRT). Tracking the tumor can be done with multiple modalities, including implanted markers, implanted beacons as well. As some therapists are hesitant to implant markers into patients, there is markerless tracking technology. Markerless tumor tracking technologies can use derived tumor location templates to match with x-ray generated images. Sometimes these x-ray generated images may be simple radiographs, but sometimes better tracking may be accomplished with other imaging modalities such as Dual kV Radiographs, which can remove interfering bone structures, or Digital Tomosynthesis images.